[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15618]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           IT IS TIME TO VOTE

  (Ms. JACKSON LEE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I hold in my hand a letter from the 
veterans cemetery in Houston, Texas, that is notifying us to indicate 
that, as of October 15, this cemetery will have reduced staff and will 
have to reduce the number of burials for our heroes who all of us 
commit to honoring.
  Mr. Speaker, our Federal employees are locked out of serving the 
government, of serving America. I just came from visiting with the 
representatives of thousands of Federal employees who were out in the 
rain, begging to come back to work. So the extreme faction of 
Republicans that don't want to open the government and raise the debt 
ceiling need to listen to the plea of those people.
  I am going to introduce today a resolution that says that we will no 
longer tie a legislative issue to the idea of continuing to serve the 
American people, keeping the government open, and raising the debt 
ceiling. We have been ready to talk. We have been ready to cooperate. 
We have given in to their number. We have done everything, as 
Democrats, to be part of the American leadership. Now, it is time to 
vote. Unlock the door for the workers who want to work for America.

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